CHAPTER-FIVE

Road Performance
Of Motor Vehicle
 Force acting on vehicle
 Force acting on the vehicle can be classified as
 The force which moves the vehicle
 The force which offers resistance in its motion
 The traction force of the driving wheels arise as a result of
operation of the engine and this force depend on the interaction
b/n the driving wheels and the road.
 The force of resistance includes
 The force of friction in the Drive line (Internal resistance)
 The force of resistance of the road
 The force of resistance of the air
 The gradient resistance
Tractive Force (Ft)
 The tractive force (Ft) is determine as

Moment on the axle shaft

Ft 
The radius of the driving wheel during uniform motion
Mt
Ft 
Rw
 The radius of the wheel can be
 Static radius (Rs)
 Radius of the wheel at stationary and vertical load condition

 Dynamic radius (Rd)

 The radius of the wheel during the rolling of the wheel
 Wheel Radius
 Dynamic radius (Rd)
 Rd increases with
 Less load Fz taken by the wheel and
 Higher air pressure (pt) in the tyre
 Rolling radius of wheel (Rr)
 The radius of such an unmemorable ring which has the same angular &
linear velocity as the given elastic wheel
 Due to the driving torque
 The tyre trends are compressed & the wheel makes a smaller path
 Due to the braking torque
 The tyre trends are expanded & the wheel makes a large path
 The difference b/n Rd & Rr is mainly caused by slip in the area where
the tyre is in contact with the speed
 Wheel Radius
 Effective radius (Rw)
 Due to the extreme complication in calculations and change in Rr due
to slip is small
 The numerical values of Rr, Rd & Rs are assumed equal

r  0.5Dr  Bt (1  t )
 Where Dr -the dia of the rim
Bt- height of the tyre profile in a free state
λt- radial deformation coefficient of the tyre
0.1-0.16 for standard & broad-profile
0.2-0.3 for arched & pneumatic tyres
 INERTIAL RESISTANCE
 While the vehicle is in linear motion, an inertial resistance to
motion due to rotating parts also exists.
 Rotating masses can be grouped into
 Parts rotating at engine speed :
 crankshaft, flywheel, clutch etc.
 Parts rotating at propeller shaft speed:
 transmission shaft, etc.
 Parts rotating at wheel speed :
 Drive axles, wheels, tires, etc.
Transmission Efficiency
 Transmission losses are
 Friction force b/n the gear teeth in the gearbox and
driving axle in the bearings
 Glands and also overcoming friction of the gears
against the oil & on its splashing
Pt  Pe  Pf
 Where Pt- Power deliver to the driving wheels
Pe- Effective engine power (free power)
Pf- the loss of friction power
Transmission Efficiency
 The moment of friction Mf reduce to the driving wheel of
a motor vehicle is
 Pf 
T f  1000 
 w 

 Where ωw angular velocity of the driving wheels

 The values of Tf accounts two types of losses
 Hydraulic losses (Th)
 Friction losses b/n the teeth of gears & in U-Joints (Tm)
Transmission Efficiency
 The hydraulic losses (Th) are caused by
 Churning, splashing of oil in the G. box & Axle casings
 The hydraulic losses depend on
 Angular velocity of gasses
 Viscosity
 Quantity of oil in the casing
 Th can be determined experimentally or using the
following empirical formula
Where V- Speed of vehicle
Th  2  0.09V Ga r 10 3 Ga- Weight of the vehicle
r- Radius of driving wheel
Transmission Efficiency
 Moment/Torque/ of friction (MTf)f
Me
 Tf=Th+Tm
=Th+ (Te itr tanα) Mm
α Mf

=Th+ (Teitr(1-x)) Mh

 where α- Inclination angle Teitr

x= (1-tanα) Coefficient of effect of the load
x=(0.98k) (0.97l) (0.99m)
k,l & m are no. of pairs of spur, bevel
gears and U-Joints respectively
Transmission Efficiency
Tractive Power on thedriving wheel ( Pt )
t 
The effctive Power of the engine ( Pe )
Pt  Pe  Pf   TeGr  T f 
      
Pe  Pe   TeGr 
 TeGr   Th  TeGr tan   
  
 TeGr 
 TeGr (1  tan  )  Th   TeGr x   Th 
     
 TeGr   TeGr 
 Th 
 x   
 TeGr 
Traction Force (Ft)
 The moment of the axle shaft (Mt) which is deliver to
the axle shaft during uniform vehicle motion is given by

Tt  TGr  T f  TeGr  T f   Tt 
tr      
 Te G r   T f  TeGr   TGr 
Tt  trTeGr
TeGr  Tt  T f  Tt  Th  TeGr 1  x 
TeGr 1  1  x   Tt  Th
TeGr  x   Tt  Th
Tt  Th
TeGr 
x
Traction Force (Ft)
 Transmission efficiency
 
 Th   T    Th 
t  x     x   h   x 1  
 
 TeGr   Tt  Th    Tt  Th 
 
 x 

 Tractive Force
T t TeGr  T f trTeGr
Ft   
r r r
TeGr   Th  v
e  r
Ft  x 1   
  Tt  Th 
r itr
Road Resistance
 The interaction b/n a motor vehicle and road involves
an energy expenditure which can be divided in to 3
groups
 Energy spent on traction
 Energy spent on deformation of tyres and road
 Energy spent on vibration of Automotive parts
Traction Characteristics
 Traction characteristics of a motor vehicle is a
graphically represented dependence of the tractive
force on the motor vehicles speed
 If the angular velocityωw of the driving wheels and
their radii Rw are known then it is possible to find the
speed at which the vehicle would move on a road
V  W RW
e  W Gr
 e 
V  W RW    Rw
 Gr 
Traction Characteristics
 The torque Tt delivered to the axle shaft is
 Tt=TeGr-Tf
 Tt can also be found as follows
Tt  trTe Gr
 The tractive force from the equation
Tt TeGr  T f TeGr  T f T Gr
Ft     tr e
Rw Rw Rw RW
 With the above equation it is possible to
 To find the dependent of the tractive force on the motor
vehicle speed
 Plot a traction characteristics
Types of Resistance Force
 The different resistance force acting on the
vehicle
 Rolling resistance
 Air resistance
 Gradient resistance
 Road resistance
 Energy spared on the deformation of tyre
 Vibration of the vehicle parts
 ROLLING RESISTANCE (Ref)
 The rolling resistance, Rr is due to deformation of road and tire
and to the dissipation of energy through impact.
 Rr =fr W fr= a +b Vn
 20% weight reduction will give about 10-15% improvement of fuel
economy which about 4% is due to reduction in rolling resistance
 Its value mainly depends on
 Vehicle speed,
 Tire inflation pressure,
 Vertical load on the tire,
 Types of tire
 the road surface.
 ROLLING RESISTANCE
 The power required to overcome the rolling resistance when
the vehicle moves at speed of V
Fr  V  fW V
Pr  
1000 1000
 The coefficient of rolling resistance increase when the speed
increase noticeably
 V2 
f  f 0  1   forV 14 m
s
 1500 
 Approximate coefficient of rolling resistance:
GRADIENT RESISTANCE
 For a vehicle climbing up a gradient , the component of its
weight parallel to the road surface acts as a resistance to its
motion.
 Since θ is very small (40-50)
 Sinθ=tanθ

F g≈

tan θ = 1/x if is small enough (i.e. x > 5)

GR : Grade ratio (1/x)
G : Grade ratio in percentage
Power expenditure on ascent with gradient
FgV GRWV
Pg  
1000 1000
AIR RESISTANCE
 The air resistance is the force exerted by the air that
opposes the motion of a vehicle passing through it.
AIR RESISTANCE
 Air resistance composed of
 Form drag (55-60 %)
 Interference drag (12-18 %)
 System drag (10-15 %)
 Surface drag (8-10 %)
 Lift drag (5-8%)
 AIR RESISTANCE
 Form drag (55-60%)
 Mainly depend on the shape (profile) of the vehicle

The form drag could

reduce
Streamlines body

Reduce the frontal area

 AV 2 
D  cd  
 2g 
 AIR RESISTANCE
 Interference drag (12-18 %)
 All the components projecting away from the
basic shape like
 Door handle,
 Rear view mirror
 Causes flow separation or vortices which increase
the drag
To reduce this drag no component should
projected away from the basic body
 AIR RESISTANCE
 System drag (internal flow) (10-15 %)
 It is basically air flow inside the body & outside and
interaction
 Air flow through radiator affect this drag
 Side glass windows in open condition is also affect this drag
 Surface drag (8-10 %)
 Fluid friction on over the metal panels
 All surface imperfection will increase
this drag
 fasting bolt and paint quality
AIR RESISTANCE
 Lift Drag (5-8%)
 Lift is a vertical force
 resulting from the pressure difference above and
underneath a car
 Can be reduced by using stabilizers
 It decreases the weight of the car in effect
AIR RESISTANCE
 Drag (i.e. air resistance) and lift are usually mutually exclusive.

 F1 cars can produce a down force equal to their weight at 125km/h to

130km/h, and at 190km/h the ratio is roughly 2:1.
 Therefore, theoretically, F1 cars can drive upside down from 130km/h.
AIR RESISTANCE

Fa=

 AV 2 
Fa= D  cd  
 2g 
V 2
q- dynamic pressure q 
2g
CD- dimensionless drag coeff.
Af- frontal area of the vehicle
Vr- vehicle speed relative to air
AIR RESISTANCE
 The typical modern automobile achieves a drag
coefficient of between 0.30–0.35.
AIR RESISTANCE
Acceleration Performance
 Maximum performance in longitudinal acceleration of a
motor vehicle is determined by one of two limits–
 engine power or
 traction limits on the drive wheel.
 At low speeds tire traction may be the limiting factor.
 At high speeds engine power may account for the
limits.
Power-Limited Acceleration
 Power-Limited Acceleration
 The flow of the torque from the engine to
wheels can be derived as follows

 The rotational accelerations are related

by
Power-Limited Acceleration
 Using the above equations, we can solve for the tractive
force that can be obtained from the engine as

ax   wr

 Te N tf tf 
Fx    2 2

  I e  I t N tf  I d N f  I w 2
ax
 r  r
ηtf- Combined efficiency of transmission and final drive
Ntf- Combined ratio of transmission and final dive
 Power-Limited Acceleration
 The 1st term (Study-state tractive force)
 To overcome the road load forces
 aerodynamics and rolling resistance
 To accelerate
 To climb a grade
 The 2nd term (Loss of Tractive force)
 Due to the inertia of the engine and drive line components
 Amplified by the square of the numerical gear between the
component and wheel
 Power-Limited Acceleration
 Knowing the tractive force, it is now possible to predict the
acceleration performance of a vehicle

Ma  Fx  FR
W
a    W  dV   Fx  FR
g  g  dt 
 Power-Limited Acceleration
 From the above figure
W
M ax  a x  Fx  Rx  DA  Rhx  W sin 
g
 W  Wr  Te N tf  tf
M  M r a x   a x   Rx  DA  Rhx  W sin 
 g  r
 Where Mr is equivalent mass of rotating components

 The combination of the two masses is effective mass and the

ratio of (M+Mr)/M is the mass factor
dV  1   Te N tf tf 
ax     R  D  R  W sin  
dt  M  M   r
x A hx

 Te N tf tf 
   Rx  DA  Rhx  W sin  M  Mr
 r  
 M
M
Power-Limited Acceleration
 Mass factor
 The mass factor will depend on the operating gear, with
typical values as follows

 A respective mass factor number can be taken as

 Mass factor=δ=1+0.04+0.0025Ntf2
Power-Limited Acceleration
 There is no convenient explicit solution for acceleration
performance equation

 W  Wr  Te N tf  tf
M  M r a x   a x   Rx  DA  Rhx  W sin 
 g  r
 Except for the grade term, all other forces vary with
speed must be evaluated at each speed.
Acceleration performance
for Manual Transmission
 The constant Engine power line is equal to the maximum power
of the engine, which is the upper limit of tractive effort available,
 The tractive force line for each gear is the image of the engine
torque curve multiplied by the ratios of the gear.
 For maximum acceleration performance the optimum Shift
point between gears is the point where the lines cross

The area between the lines for the

different gears and the constant power
curve is indicative of the deficiencies of
the transmission in providing maximum
acceleration performance
Plotting of Speed characteristics Curve
 Example
 Calculate the external speed characteristics of a 4-s
carburetor engine developing a maximum effective power of
Pe max=72 kw with crankshaft speed of ωN=472 rad/s
 The effective power with an angular velocity of 136 rad/s

    2   
3

Pe  N e max  e   e    e  
  N   N    N
For carburetor engine
 

 e  e   e  
2 3

Pe  Pe max 0.87  1.13      For diesel engine with open

 N  N    N   Combustion chamber
 solution
 The engine power @ 136 rad/s engine speed
 136  136  2  136 3 
Pe  72       25 kw
 472  472   472  

 The effective torque at the angular velocity

Pe 25,000
Te    184 Nm
e 136
parameters Angular velocity of crankshaft in rad/sec
136 220 304 388 472 556
Pe (kw) 25.0 41.9 57.0 67.6 72.0 67.5
Te (Nm) 184 190 188 174 152 121
Speed characteristics Curve
200
Power Curve
Torque curve
180

160

140
P(kw) and T(Nm)

120

100

80

60

40

20
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
engine speed
Plotting Traction characteristics curve
 Plot the traction curve characteristics for a car from the
following data
 i1=3.51 i2=2.26 i3=1.45 iiv=1.0
 Imain=4.1 r=0.33 ηt=0.9
 The value of the torque at different engine speeds are
tabulated in the pervious example

ωe (rad/s) 136 220 304 388 472 556

Te (Nm) 184 190 188 174 152 121
solution
 When the car run in 1st gear
 @ ωe=136 rad/s and Te=184 Nm
 The speed of the wheel (ωt)
e r 136  0.33
t    3.12 m / s
ig imain 3.51 4.1

 The Corresponding traction Force (Ft)

Ft  i g imain  tr   3.51 4.10.9  7230

Te 184
r 0.33
 Plotting Traction Curve
Gear parame Angular velocity of crankshaft in rad/sec
Ratio ters
136 220 304 388 472 556
1st V(m/s) 3.12 5.05 7.00 8.90 10.85 12.80
Gear
Ft (N) 7230 7450 7390 6820 5960 4750
2nd V(m/s) 4.85 7.85 10.80 13.80 16.80 19.80
Gear Ft (N) 4660 4810 4769 4400 3850 3030
3rd V(m/s) 7.55 12.20 16.90 21.50 26.20 30.90
Gear Ft (N) 2980 3080 3050 2820 2460 1960
4th V(m/s) 11.001 17.70 24.5 31.20 38.00 44.80
Gear Ft (N) 2026 2120 2100 1940 1700 1350
Traction Force Characteristics Traction Force characterstics

8000
I Gear
II Gear
7000
III Gear
IV Gear
6000

5000
Traction Force (N)

4000

3000

2000

1000

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Speed of wheel (m/s)
Acceleration performance
for Automatic Transmission

 Automatic transmission provide somewhat different performance,

more closely matching the ideal because of the torque converter
on the input
 At low speed
 The output torque will be several times that of the input
 The torque input to the transmission is twice the torque of the engine
 At higher speed
 The transmission input approach
the engine speed
 The torque ratio drop to unity
Acceleration performance
for Automatic Transmission

 Stall
 The output speed is 0
 Max torque ratio at stall
 Torque ratio decreases
as speed ratio increases
 At torque ratio of 1.0
efficiency is max
 Acceleration performance
for Automatic Transmission

 Tractive effort performance for 4 speed AT

 Because of the slip possible with the fluid coupling, the
torque curves in each gear extended down to zero speed
without stalling

The intersection b/n

The road load curve and
any Of the tractive effort
curve is the max
Speed that can be
Sustained in that gear
Gear ratio
 The best gear ratio usually fall close to a geometric
progression, in which the ration changes by a constant
percentage from gear to gear
 The relationship of engine speed to road speed with
geometric progression
Example
 The following information given about the engine and drive
components for passenger car.
 Engine
 Inertia 0.8 in-lb-sec2
 RPM Torque (ft-lb) RPM Torque (ft-lb) RPM Torque (ft-lb)

 800 120 2400 175 4000 200

 1200 132 2800 181 4400 201
 1600 145 3200 190 4800 198
 2000 160 3600 198 5200 180
 Example
 Transmission Data-Gear
 Gear 1 2 3 4 5
 Inertias 1.3 0.9 0.7 0.5 0.3 (in-lb-sec2)
 Ratios 4.28 2.79 1.83 1.36 1.00
 Efficiency 0.966 0.967 0.972 0.973 0.970
 Final drive
 Inertia 1.2 in-ib-sec2
 Ratio 2.92
 Efficiency 0.99
 Wheel
 Inertia Drive 11.0 in-lb-sec2 non drive 11.0 in-lb-sec2
 Size 801 rev/mile 6.59 ft (circumference) 12.59 in radius
Example
 Calculate
 the effective inertia of the drive train components in
the first gear
 The maximum tractive effort and
 The road speed in the 1st and 5th gear of the car
described above
 Solution
The effective inertia is given by the 2nd term on RHS of the
equation
 Te N tf tf 
  I e  I t N tf  I d N f  I w  2
ax

Fx    2 2

 r  r
The term in the bracket is the effective inertia
  
I eff  I e  I t  N tf2  I d N 2f  I w 
 0.8  1.34.28  2.92   1.2  2.92 2  2 11(in  lb  sec 2 )
2

 328  10.2  22
 360.2 in  lb  sec 2

The rotational inertia can be converted to inertia by dividing r2

I eff 360.2 in  lb  sec 2 
Weff  M eff g  2.27 lb  sec 2 / in  386 in / sec 2 
M eff    2.27 lb  sec 2
/ in
r2 12.59 2 in 2  877 lb  394.65 kg
solution
 Max tractive effort will coincide with maximum torque, which
occurs at 4400 rpm.
 So that problem reduces to finding the tractive effort from the
1st term in the given equation Torque

250

200

Te N tf  tf
Fx 
150
Torque

r
201 4.28  2.920.966  0.999
100


12.59 in 12 in / ft 50

 2290 lb
0
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 600
rpm
4400 rpm
 Solution
 The road speed can be determined
 ωd=ωwNf and ωe=ωdNt=ωwNtNf
 The wheel rotational speed will be
e 4400 rpm  2 rad / rev.1min 
w    
N N 
t f 4.28  2.92  60 sec 
 36.87 rad / sec
 The corresponding ground speed will be found by converting
the rotational speed to translational speed at the circumference
of the tire
V X   w  r  36.87 rad / sec  12.59 in   464.2 in / sec
 38.7 ft / sec  26.4 mph
Solution
 The road speed in higher gear
Te N tf  tf 201 ft  ln 1.0  2.92 0.99  0.97 
F  
12.59 in 12 in / ft
X
r
 537 lb

e 4400 rpm  2 rad / rev 1min 

w    
Nt N f 1 2.92  60 sec 
157.8 rad / sec
V X   w  r  157.8 rad / sec 12.59 in  1987 ft / sec
 113 mph
Traction-Limited Acceleration
 Presuming there is adequate power from the engine,
acceleration may be limited by the coefficient of friction
between the tire and road.
 Fx=μW
 Where μ- peak coefficient of friction
 W- weight on drive wheel
 The weight on the drive wheel is depends on
 the static plus the dynamic load to acceleration,

 Any transverse shift of load due to drive torque

 Dynamic Wheel Force
 When the vehicle would stand then neither traction nor
resistance forces acted.
mg b cos  h sin   mgb
R 
F if   0, R 
F
l l
mg a cos  h sin   mga
RR  if   0 , RR 
l l

The dynamic wheel forces for the

case of traction are designed
mg (b cos )  max  W sin  h  Da  ha 
R' F 
l
mg a cos   max  W sin  h  Da  ha
R' R 
l
Dynamic Wheel Force
 Assume h=ha
 The tractive forces acting on driving on the driving
wheels equate with the total resistance forces
 (Ft-Fr)= (max+Wsinθ+Da)
 The dynamic wheel forces (Reaction Force) can be
rewritten as
mgb cos  Ft  Fr h
R' F 
l
mga cos  Ft  Fr h
R' R 
l
 Max Transmittable Traction Force
 The available torque on the driving wheel depend much
on the friction conditions between tire and road
Ft max   max  R '
 Front wheel Drive
 The front wheel forces only can be used for generating
friction forces
Ftf max   max  R' F
 max
 Ftf max 
l
mg cos b  fh  F
tf max h 
 b  fh 
Ftf max   max mg cos  
 1   max h 
 Max Transmittable Traction Force
 Rear wheel Drive
 Similar equation development can be made for the
traditional rear wheel drive
 The max transmittable traction forces of the rear
wheel drive follow

 max
Ftr max 
l
mg cos a  fh  F tf max h 
 a  fh 
Ftr max   max mg cos   
 1   max h 
 Max Transmittable Traction Force
 the magnitudes of transmittable traction forces are
influenced by
 Major influences
 The total mass of the vehicle
 Maximum frictional coefficient (μmax)
 The position of C.G
 Minor influences
 Rolling resistance coefficients (f)
 The slope angle (θ)
Max Transmittable Traction Force
 To understand the difference between the front and
rear wheel drives more clearly, the relation of the two
conceptions was developed by
Ftf max b  fh  l   max h 
  
Ftr max a  fh  l   max h 
Example
 A passenger car may have a C.G in the middle b/n the
two axles, measuring that the static wheel forces at
leveled road are equal Rf=Rr and a=b =1/2 (L)=1.25 m.
The C.G shall be 0.58m, the rolling resistance
coefficient f=0.015, and the available max friction
coefficient μmax=0.8. Find the relation of transmittable
traction forces for the two cases
 The car is front wheel driven and
 It is rear wheel driven
solution
Ftf max b  fh  l   max h 
  
Ftr max a  fh  l   max h 
0.625  0.015  0.58  1.25  0.8  0.58 
  
0.625  0.015  0.58  1.25  0.8  0.58 
 0.7
 With this conditions the car being equipped with a
modern front wheel drive could transmit only 70% of
the tractive forces as compared the traditional
(standard) rear wheel drive
 This is the reason why fast and powerful cars have
rear wheel drives
All wheel Drive
 The absolute max traction forces would be obtainable under
the condition, that all available wheel forces could be utilized
for generation of the traction force.

Ft 4 max   max  mg cos

  max  R' f  R'r 
Ftf 4 max R' f mg b cos  hFt  Fr 
 
Ftr 4 max R'r mga cos  hFt  Fr 
 The ideal relation of the tractive forces
 Ftf 4  b  h max  f 
  
 Ftr  ideal a  h max  f 
Example
 For the pervious example
 Ftf 4  b  h max  f 
  
 Ftr  ideal a  h max  f 
1.25  0.580.8  0.015

1.25  0.580.8  0.015
 0.466

 The share of the total power for

Ftf the twoFtf axles would
0.466
   0.318
be obtained as it follows Ft 4 max Ftf  Ftr 1.466
Ftf Ftf 0.466 Ftr Ftr 1
   0.318    0.682
Ft 4 max Ftf  Ftr 1.466 Fr 4 max Ftf  Ftr 1.466
Ftr Ftr 1
Transverse Weight shift due to Drive Torque

 Transverse weight shift occurs on all solid drive axles

wheatear on the front or the rear of the vehicle.
 The driveshaft in to the differential imposes a torque
Td on the axle
 The chassis may roll compressing and extending springs
on opposite sides of the vehicle such that a torque due
to suspension roll stiffness Ts is produced

Any difference between these two

must be absorbed as a difference
in weight on the two wheels
Transverse Weight shift due to Drive Torque
 When the axle is in equilibrium
 Wr   Wr t
 O 2
T    W y  
 

2
 W y 
 2
 Ts  Td  0

(T  Ts )
Wy  d
t
 The above equation, Td can be related to the drive force because
 Td=Fxr/Nf
 However, it is necessary to determine the roll torque
produced by the suspension, which requires an
analysis of the whole vehicle because the reaction of
the drive torque on the chassis attempts to roll the
chassis on both the front and rear suspensions
Transverse Weight shift due to Drive
Torque

 The drive torque reaction at the engine/transmission is

transferred to the frame and distributed between the
front and rear suspensions.
 It is generally assumed that the roll torque produced by
a suspension is proportional to roll angle of the chassis.

Tsf  K f 
Tsr  K r
K   K f  K r
Where- Ts- roll torque on the front or rear suspension
kΦ - roll stiffness
Transverse Weight shift due to Drive
Torque

 Tsr can be related to roll angle and the roll angle can be
related to the drive torque as follows.
 The roll angle is simply the drive torque divided by the
total roll stiffness
Td Td the term in brackets collapses to yield
 
K Kf  Kr  Fx r  K f 
Wy  
 Td  N f t  K  

Tsr  K r  
K K 
 r f 

Fx r  K r 

Wy  1

N ft  K f  K r 

Transverse Weight shift due to Drive
Torque

 This equation gives the magnitude of the lateral load

transfer as a function of the tractive force and a number
of vehicle parameters such as
 the final drive ratio,
 tread of the axle,
 tire radius and
 suspension roll stiffness
For rear Axle
 b ax h 
Wr  W   
 L g L

 Then the weight on the right rear wheel Wrr will be

Wrr   r   W y 
W 
 2 
Wb  Fx h   Fx r K f 
  
2 L  2 L   N ft K  

Fx  2Wrr  2Wrr
 Wb Fx h Fx r Kf 
 2    
 2L 2L N K 
 ft  
Traction Limits
 Solving for Fx gives the final expression for the maximum tractive force
that can be developed by a solid rear axle with a non-locking differential
 Wb 
 
Fx max   L 
h 2r K f
1  
L N ft K 

 For a solid rear axle with a locking differential additional tractive force can
be obtained from the other wheel up to its traction limits such that the last
term in the denominator of the above equation drops out.
 This would also be true in the case of an independent rear suspension
because the driveline torque reaction is picked up by the chassis-
mounted differential.
 Traction Limits
 In both of these cases the expression for the maximum
tractive force is
wb

Fx max  L
h
1 
L

 Finally, the case of a front axle, the fore/aft load transfer

is opposite from the rear axle case. Since the load
transfer is reflected in the second term of the
denominator, the opposite yields a sign change
 For Solid front drive axle
 The term Wb/L arose in the earlier equations to represent the static
load on the rear drive axle. For a front wheel- drive vehicle the term
becomes WC/L For the solid front drive axle with non locking
differential  WC 
  
Fx max   L 
h 2r Kr
1  
L N ft K

 For the solid front drive axle with locking differential or the
independent front drive axle as typical of most front wheel drive
cars today W
 C
Fx max  L
h
1 
L
 Exercise
 Find the traction-limited acceleration for rear-drive
passenger car with and without a locking differential on a
surface of moderate friction level
 The information that will be needed is as follows
 Weight Front 2100 lb Rear-1850 lb Total-3950 lb
 CG height- 21.0 in wheel base-108 in
 Coefficient of friction 0.62 tread-59.0 in
 Final drive ratio- 2.90 tire size-13.0 in
 Roll stiffness Front 1150 ft-lb/deg Rear-280ft-lb/deg
 Solution
 The equation for max tractive force of a solid axle rear-
drive vehicle with a non-locking differential given by
 Wb 
 
Fx max   L 
h 2r Kf
1  
L N ft K

 In this eq. W b/L is just the axle weight which is known

therefore it is not required to find the value for the parameter b.
 Likewise all the other terms are known and can be substitute in
to the equation to obtain
Solution
0.621850lb 
FX max 
21 20.62  13 in 1150
1 0.62 
108 2.9 59 in 1430
1147 lb 1147
   1201lb
1  0.121  0.0758 0.9548

Fx max 1201lb
ax    0.3041 g ' s  9.79 ft / sec 2
Mg 3950 lb
Solution
 With a locking differential the third term in the
denominator disappears
0.621850lb  1147 lb 1147
FX max     1305 lb
21 1  0.121 0.879
1 0.62
108

Fx max
1305 lb
ax    0.330 g ' s  10.64 ft / sec 2
Mg 3950 lb
INERTIAL RESISTANCE
 Moment of Inertia (J) : A measure of the resistance
offered by a body to angular acceleration.

(An effective linear acceleration resistance)

(γ is the ‘rotary mass factor’)

( γ is the ‘rotary mass factor’)

( γ is the ‘rotary mass factor’)

Traction-Limited Acceleration
 Rear wheel drive
Traction-Limited Acceleration
 Front wheel drive
Wheels reactions

 Rear wheel drive

Wheels reactions
CHAPTER-FIVE

The End